Sweet Secret's Bakery Opens Jan. 24 on Caswell Street

Downtown Gets New Bakery

FAMILY AFFAIR: Members of Secrete Hamm's family stand poised to swing the doors open Jan. 24, 2008 for their new downtown Kinston bakery--Sweet Secret's Bakery—at 205 E. Caswell Street. Left to right: Joe Moore, cousin; Raime Hamm, daughter; Secrete Hamm, owner/baker; and husband William Hamm.

Secrete Hamm is turning her love for baking into a career with the opening of her new bakery - Sweet Secret's Bakery - in downtown Kinston. It was a family affair Thursday (Jan. 24, 2008) as Ms. Hamm, her husband William, daughter Raime and cousin Joe Moore converged on 205 E. Caswell Street to ready the bakery for its first customers.

Ms. Hamm says cheese cakes and ice cream cakes will be a specialty. Sweet Secret's will also serve all kinds of cakes, pies, cookies, muffins, cupcakes and other "delicious pastries." Special orders for baked goods will be welcomed, she says.

Hours for the new store will be 8:00 am to 4:30 pm, Thursday through Saturday. "We want folks to stop by. We'll have something good for everybody," she smiled.

Sponsors, volunteers and runners signing up

8K Run for the River Gearing Up

THE MAN TO BEAT: Michael Earle of Greenville is shown crossing the finish line at the 2007 Kinston 8000: Run for the River, 8K race held in Kinston Mar. 24, 2007. Earle ran the race in 25:58. Kari Burger from Emerald Isle was the top female finisher in the 4.97 mile run.

Planning for the 3rd Annual Kinston 8000: Run for the River continues to win runners, volunteers and sponsors, according to Pride of Kinston's Outdoor Events Team, producer of the 8K race in cooperation with the Kinston-Lenoir Country Parks & Recreation Department.

In addition, the Events Team has added several new members who bring new energy and excitement to the planning, according to Pride. New members include Bert Statum of Riverside Bicycle & Outdoor Sports; Jeremy Jones of the little bank; Lea Jeffress at Caswell Center; Shane Morris of Triple R Electric; Matthew Harrell of Perry Management; and Jake Warren who works with Attorney Jimbo Perry.

Runners from throughout the region have already signed up, plus two from Boston, MA who were attracted to the race through Pride's website.

The goal is to sign up at least 200 runners for the 8K race to be held in downtown Kinston Mar. 29, 2008. The 2007 race attracted 175 registrations.

The top male and female runners in the 8K race will each receive a $500.00 cash award in addition to an especially engraved china bowl contributed by Lenox China. Second place male and female runners will receive $300.00 each; and third place finishers will receive $150.00 each. Medals will also be presented. All participants in the One Mile Fun Run will receive a commemorative medal, according to Race Director Tim Knobeloch.

The 2008 pace to beat in the 8K race is 25:58 set by Greenville, NC runner Michael Earle in the 2007 Run for the River. Kari Burger of Emerald Isle was the top female finisher, setting a 32:38 pace in the 4.97 mile course.

Sponsors who have signed up so far include the Kinston-Lenoir County Tourism Development Authority; Rotary Club of Kinston; Lenoir Memorial Hospital; Eastern Radiologists; Down East Tri-Kids Challenge; White & Allen; BB&T; Coastal Connections; Wallace, Morris, Barwick, Landis & Stroud; the little bank; Corporate Resources; and Anonymous.

Members of the Events Team who have helped to plan the 2006 and 2007 Runs for the River include: Tim Knobeloch, Ronnie Ingram, Edwin Jones, Jimbo Perry, Rick Vernon, Robert Van Meir, Lyn Turner, Dick Archie, Lucy Marston, Alison Merritt, Sean Anglin, John Shimer, and Kevin Zoltek.

Registration for the One Mile Fun Run and the 8K race is available through the Pride website. Payment of the registration fee is possible through Pay Pal.

Voluntary "Round Up" Program launched

Kinston residents being asked to help Pride in downtown revitalization

Pride of Kinston is reaching out to the community to ask for help in its efforts to restore downtown as a vital economic center of the region.

Approximately 13,300 customers of Kinston utilities, beginning in February, will be given the opportunity to "round up" their payments to the nearest whole dollar when paying their bills. The difference between what is owed, and the next dollar will be contributed to Pride to help the revitalization agency expand its current Facade Grant program.

"Our community's downtown is like the root system of a tree," said Adrian King, Pride director. "If the roots get diseased and dies, the whole tree will perish." He emphasized that the "Round Up" program will be strictly voluntary. "A household or business can sign up for the program, and then drop it whenever they want to," he said.

"Round Up" would work like this: A monthly utilities bill amounts to $98.57 cents. A household or business participating in the strictly voluntary program would agree to pay $99.00. The 43 cents difference would be forwarded to Pride to support expansion of the Facade Grants Program. On an annual basis, the tax deductible donation would be no more than $12.00—and that assumes every bill during the year would be an even dollar amount.

"Round Up" would be a new tool to continue our efforts to give downtown Kinston new life," King said. "Our philosophy is that everybody in Kinston has a stake in the vitality of our downtown...and this gives folks all over town a simple, easy, efficient way to give our downtown a real boost. It's an investment in our future. Pride appreciates the support it receives today, and we will be grateful for those who choose to participate in "Round Up." We appreciate Board Member Alice Tingle for bringing this idea to our attention."

"Not only will this help the downtown revitalization program, it will make it easier for you to manage your check book. You'll be able to subtract whole dollar amounts, rather than dollars and cents," King noted.

Notices giving details on how to sign up for the program will be contained in the February utility statements. Customers will be asked to complete a written request form to notify the utility department that they wish to participate. "We hope that at least 25% will sign up," King said.

Once a customer has signed up, the next bill will include the amount owed plus the "Round Up" allocation. The difference will be forwarded to Pride in periodic payments. Often, it would amount to just a few pennies a month.

In a test run, the utility's billing department applied the "Round Up" philosophy to November 2007 bills for all 13,304 customers. It would have yielded $6,223.60 if all 13,304 were participating.

Pride's current Facade Grant Program encourages downtown property owners to improve the exterior appearance of their buildings. A matching grant up to $2,000.00 towards the cost of a street-side make-over is made available for an approved plan. Proposals are reviewed by a special committee composed of members of Pride's Design Committee and representatives of the City of Kinston's Appearance Commission.

Goal of the "Round Up" program is to allow Pride to offer financial incentives for interior renovation and restoration in downtown structures. A main objective would be to forestall deterioration and eventual collapse while enhancing a structure's capacity to serve the public. The program would operate as a one-to-three matching program. To qualify for "Round Up" assistance, a building's owner would have to document renovation expenses of at least $60,000.00 to earn a $20,000.00 grant.

Roof repair and window renovations—often the first features of an abandoned property to give way—would be covered under a "Round Up" grant, assuming those items would be part of an overall renovation or restoration plan.

The desire to offer support for interior renovation projects was embodied in Pride's re-write of the Facade Grant program in the summer of 2007. The Round Up concept was presented to the Pride Board of Directors in October by Pride board member and City Councilwoman Alice Tingle. It was endorsed by the board and submitted to the Kinston City Council at its Jan. 7, 2008 meeting where the project was approved.

The program has the capacity to not only shore up and improve aging structures, it could lead to improved economic development projects and an enhanced tax base.

For additional information call: Adrian King 252-522-4676 Ext. 2020